How much energy do data centres consume?

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), data centres are responsible for about 1.5%, or 415 Terawatt-Hours (TWh), of the world's total yearly electricity consumption. This has grown by 12% per year over the last 5 years and projections indicate that it is on course to more than double towards 945 TWh by 2030, primarily due to the substantial growth of energy-intensive accelerated computing which is used mainly for AI purposes.

Looking at the EU specifically, in the absence of precise consumption data (a challenge which the EU is addressing - we’ll come back to that later in the article!), the IEA estimates that the energy use of data centres in 2024 was 70 TWh. Consistent with the global trend, a significant increase is expected in the coming years – towards 115 TWh by 2030. 
 

What does this mean for the energy sector?

In the context of our efforts to use energy more efficiently, the rising energy consumption of data centres is certainly challenging.

EU countries are working towards an ambitious energy efficiency target of reducing final energy consumption by at least 11.7% by 2030, compared to the 2020 projections for energy use in 2030. At international level, the EU has been instrumental in spear-heading the global pledge to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements worldwide, from about 2% to over 4% by 2030 – along with tripling the world’s installed capacity of renewable energy sources.

Particularly challenging for the energy system is the rate at which data centres – and thus their energy needs – are increasing, and the fact that this increase is usually met with a lack of available capacity to connect to the grid.